Sun, Aug. 14, 2005

Service varies a bit from airline to airline

By Betty Lin-Fisher,Beacon Journal business writer

The flight attendants came through twice to offer me drinks -- including the can.

They gave me a large muffin for breakfast, and I watched a TV in the seat-back in front of me during a recent trip from Akron-Canton Airport to Denver on Frontier Airlines.

There also was a blanket or pillow in every seat row.

In contrast, during a trip from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to Washington, D.C.`s Dulles Airport on Independence Air, I was offered only a choice of four drinks (not sodas and no can). I got a mint for my snack and there was no music or entertainment. And no blankets on board.

If I was on one of their longer flights, I was told, I could buy a neck pillow and blanket for $10.

In Northeast Ohio, we`re fortunate to have a good selection of airlines to choose from, including several low-fare carriers.

Those that service Hopkins and Akron-Canton airports -- AirTran, Frontier, Independence and Southwest -- typically offer lower fares to U.S. destinations than so-called legacy carriers, or traditional airlines such as United and Continental.

But when you fly on a low-fare carrier, do you give up anything? Or is it about the same experience as a traditional airline, since most have cut back on their in-flight services?

To find out, I flew each of the airlines in the last month. I`d been on many of the airlines before, but AirTran and Frontier were new experiences for me. In addition to the four low-fare airlines, I also flew Continental and United to assess their services.

Most of the time, I flew one airline to a destination and a different airline on the way back, often in a day. In some cases, I was unable to match airlines and destinations, so I took the same airline round trip. I also flew on large jets and regional jets, some nonstop and some with connections.

I wasn`t a pest to the attendants, but I did ask all of them for at least one more thing than other customers -- usually an extra glass of ice after the drink service had already been through, or a blanket or pillow if I couldn`t find one myself.

I also observed flight attendants and staff for their level of customer service.

My conclusion? Most of the airlines -- both low-fare and traditional airlines -- were about the same. Only one of them -- Frontier -- stuck out as a better experience than the rest. The others mesh together in my memory.

I understand that consumers have both wonderful and horrible experiences with airlines every day. My observations are based on my experience during these recent flights. But the bottom line is, many consumers will make a decision whether to patronize a business based on one experience.

The results

I was most impressed by Frontier Airlines, which started its service from Akron-Canton Airport to Denver in June. From Denver, travelers can connect to 17 destinations in the West and five in Mexico.

Each seat-back had its own TV screen. I could watch either of two free channels -- I really consider it one since an interactive map of the plane`s route isn`t really a channel. The other is Frontier`s Wild Blue Yonder channel, which plays short films and other features.

Frontier provides free headphones, but my own headphones also worked. For $5 each, I could also expand my choices on the TV to watch either a pay-per-view movie or 24 channels of DirecTV. The airline provides a free preview for the first 10 minutes after takeoff.

Whenever I`ve traveled with my kids on other airlines, I`ve appreciated the TV screens in the seat-backs. It would have been even better if Frontier offered the whole service for free, but spokesman Joe Hodas said the airline makes no money by charging the $5.

When I asked Hodas whether travelers are paying more for the amenities, he said ``absolutely not. That`s our whole goal. We can offer you a great fare and a great service.``

I have heard from some consumers who said they haven`t been able to find cheap fares with Frontier. Hodas said the Akron to Denver service has been so successful that most of the cheapest seats have sold out.

But Hodas said if travelers book a few months in advance, they should be able to find good fares.

Unimpressed with two

Two airlines I wasn`t particularly impressed with were Independence Air and United Airlines.

Independence Air is only a year old -- having begun its new service last year in and out of Washington, D.C.`s Dulles Airport. All of its connections go through Dulles, so if you want to fly to the West Coast on their new service, you have to fly from Cleveland to Washington, D.C., and then go west.

This was my second flight on Independence. Frankly, I wasn`t impressed either time. Its flights from Cleveland to D.C. are truly bare bones. For instance, the airline does not keep blankets on board for its trips to the Dulles hub.

Travelers these days have learned not to expect much food or snacks from airlines. Continental still offers a free meal on long flights, but most airlines don`t. On Independence, I got a mint and a hot towel wipe.

Independence Air spokeswoman Valerie Wunder said some flights, such as Cleveland to D.C., are too short to offer a snack or full drink service.

But I think the 1 ½-hour flight was long enough to at least have thrown me a bag of peanuts or pretzels. When I flew on a regional jet from Chicago to Akron-Canton on United -- which is about the same flight time as the Dulles trip -- I was given a bag of pretzels.

For drinks on my Independence flight, there was only a choice of orange juice, iced tea, bottled water or coffee.

To top it off, the bathroom smelled. I know I was the first person of the day to use it since I got up as soon as the seat belt sign went out on my 6:10 a.m. flight. I had to hold my breath. It was the same on my flight home, and I also recall smelly bathrooms from a previous flight.

Wunder did not respond to an e-mail and voice mail asking for comment about the smelly bathrooms.

Service incident

I took two flights on United -- on a large jet from Denver to Chicago and a small regional jet from Chicago to Akron.

I was shocked at the lack of customer service on my first flight. I was behind a teenager who had gotten separated from the rest of his group when we boarded. He put his bag in the overhead compartment and politely asked the attendant a few seats away whether she thought it would fit.

She said she didn`t know; he should try to close the compartment. The boy, who was fairly short, struggled while trying not to fall into the woman seated below. He finally told the attendant he was too short.

Her response?

``Welcome to my world.``

She did not say it as a joke nor did she try to come and help him. Only after he again asked for help did she reluctantly come over.

Not my idea of the friendly skies.

United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski was troubled when I asked her for comment about the rude attendant.

``This is very disturbing. Our flight attendants are supposed to be courteous and friendly. I`m hoping this was a one-time incident. I intend to follow up with the crew,`` she said.

Average flights

My flights on the other airlines -- AirTran, Southwest and Continental -- were all pleasant and comfortable. I was treated well, though nothing in particular wowed or bugged me.

Some travelers may not like having a seat assigned to them prior to getting on board with Southwest, but if you check in online or get to the airport really early, you`ll get in the first seating section. I was in the third seating group on my first flight and still got an aisle seat, as I wanted. I did have to sit next to someone, but even on the flights where I chose my seat ahead of time next to an open seat, by the time I got on board, someone had been assigned to sit next to me.

In the end, all of the airlines are going to get you to your destination. And price, for the majority of travelers, is what`s going to drive the purchase.

The question comes down to how much comfort or lack of comfort you`re willing to live with for the price to get to your destination.